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Diversity’s Contribution to the Bottom Line: Assigning a Monetary Value to Diversity Initiatives

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Abstract

It is important at all times, but particularly during economic downturns, for businesses to prioritise strategic objectives by calculating the different return on investment (ROI) of each. Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities have often been considered outside of these ‘bottom-line’ calculations although, in fact, EDI interventions have the potential to make big contributions, for instance through:

  • raising productivity by inclusively engaging diverse workforces;

  • attracting and retaining talent, thereby reducing recruitment, induction and training costs;

  • generating more creative and longer-lasting solutions to business problems;

  • gaining competitive advantage from meeting the needs of diverse customers.

These are just some of the ways that firms can capture the economic impact of EDI initiatives. This chapter describes the development and piloting of a Diversity Scorecard and Value Analysis Tool that enables businesses to calculate and prioritise the diversity ROI (DROI) of different initiatives.

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© 2012 Ian Dodds, Alan David, Gloria Moss, Valeriya Kanuk and Peter Unwin

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Dodds, I., David, A., Moss, G., Kanuk, V., Unwin, P. (2012). Diversity’s Contribution to the Bottom Line: Assigning a Monetary Value to Diversity Initiatives. In: Moss, G. (eds) Lessons on Profiting from Diversity. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230355057_11

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